Miyagi – Lucky Face (Own Label).

Up and coming Edinburgh band Miyagi have started their serious recording career on a promising note with thirteen self-penned songs on Lucky Face. Dirty Little Monkey confirms that this band will be hard to pigeonhole and that is no bad thing. It is almost childlike in parts but the harmonies on the chorus are crisp and it is instrumentally sound. It’s As Easy As Lying has a Crosby Stills Nash & Young beginning and it speeds up with the introduction of Ally McNaught on saxophone. It could be split into two songs very easily – country rock & funk. On Grow So Tall the introduction of the Madness style sax breaks is welcome, if not totally necessary. However, this is a good song with a unique delivery that will only get better. All Good Reptiles Go To Heaven is a gentle acoustic instrumental with some added cello from Claire Schiavone. She also adds vocals to Cry Cry Cry, which is back to the full band with Andy Duncan on drums improving track by track. He really keeps this band together. This song is a wall of sound with Euan Bruce sounding like a banshee on harmonica. Minnie Gemmil’s is short, acoustic and ok.

Dead Man’s Hand is vibrant and shouldn’t really be a favourite, but it is and Dragonfly is another powerful song with Byrds style harmonies. Tomorrow has a different vocalist and is modern folk with a little bit western influence. They may be hedging their bets but whatever they are doing they have added another string to their considerable bow. It’s played at a good pace but maybe could be better at a slightly faster tempo. Somebody’s Daughter is psychedelic Byrds and All The Way Home is West Coast American 60s acoustic folk rock. Apeman has a very Dexy’s Midnight Runners opening. It’s a strange one but it will grow on you. It builds up throughout and there’s that drummer again! You Think, I Am has them still surrounded in 60s psychedelic rock and the last track, Sugar Cane (Queen Bee) confirms that they were born in the wrong era.

Miyagi would have been massive in the late 60s, let’s all hope for a revival.

http://www.miyagimusic.com/

David Blue.

John Power – Stormbringer (Tanuki Tanuki).

John Power, for those who don’t recognise the name, was the bass player and public face of The Las’s and frontman of Cast whose album, All Change, was the biggest and fastest selling debut album in the history of Polydor Records. However, that was 13 years ago, don’t you feel old, and he has now put out an album that he considers to be “the most comfortable, wind-in-my-sails recordings I’ve done…it’s folk music, grassroots music”. He opens with Ain’t No Woman, which has a rasping tone to the vocal and he certainly gets some venom into it. It is unmistakably Liverpudlian and follows on well from his La’s days. Calling You Back has a homemade and bluesy feel and allows him so much freedom. American Dream has slide guitar, which re-visits the blues feel and it is lyrically strong and rustic. The title track is played in a jug band style and still has that thread of blues running through it. Distant Eyes is a different style – a more traditional folk tune this time. It is understated and brilliant – he has certainly hit a new, rich vein of form. Good Life is back to basics again – short and snappy. Fire In My Heart has him flirting with folk music again and this is a dirge in the truest sense of the word. Tombstone lifts the beat, despite the title and Cockerel Crow has a strange up and down timing. Come In The Morning has a little brass backing – a cross between colliery bands and New Orleans. It still has that easy, homemade comfortable feel and has a mixture of styles including a little yodel. Power may have just found himself another little cult niche.

http://www.thisisrude.com/
http://www.johnpower.uk.com/

David Blue.

Monte Montgomery – Live – At Workplay (Provogue Records).

Monte Montgomery has been described as “The Evel Kneivel of Guitar” and “The Acoustic Shred Master” and on listening to this live album I can understand why. Recorded at The Workplay Theater, Birmingham, Alabama the album opens with 1st And Repair, which immediately establishes him as a strong live performer. His fluid acoustic guitar playing is added to just enough grit in his voice to make an excellent all round package and give us another guitar wizard on the block. Let’s Go is blues rock and not too bad at that. Shock is another blues rock but this time with a funk edge. The only criticism is that he does lose himself sometimes in those amazing guitar flurries. He’s a bit Bob Dylan on Wishing Well – folk rock on the rock side with an extraordinary guitar solo. He gets a well deserved big round of applause for this. All On Me slows things down for the first time and he is able to show how good a vocalist he is. The guitar speaks for itself – stunning!

I don’t know why but I think of Neil Diamond when I hear Come Away. If anyone can illuminate on this then please feel free. Acoustic guitar is Montgomery’s weapon of choice and what a supreme choice it is. There is no quarter given on Splitsville and no respite in the pace. Churning bass from David Piggott is remorseless. Back To The Country is country rock as the title suggests. There are a few errors creeping in but he does play so fast and he can be allowed a few minor ones. How The Story Goes is one of the few slow tracks and he just changes things enough to make it hard to classify him. The Book makes it two slow ones on the trot. This is good soft rock with those lightning fingers again. He must have burned himself out because the final track makes a trio of slow pacers. He manages to build up Bringing Me Down into a stadium style rocker however. The slow and quiet passages have the audience in the palm of his hands and he produces an epic to end with.

Don’t let the guitar heroics get in the way of his vocal and songwriting talents; Monte Montgomery is the complete package.

http://www.montemontgomery.com/
http://www.provoguerecords.com/

David Blue.

Betty Harris – Invitation (Evidence Music).

60s legend, The True Soul Queen of New Orleans, Betty Harris has released a debut solo album filled with 16 original songs on Evidence Music. She is probably best known for her version of Solomon Burke’s Cry To Me and was under the wing of Big Maybelle in her early years. She recorded often with Alain Toussaint and toured with Otis Redding on what was to be his final tour. After a few years in retirement to raise a family her daughter found a number of internet sites devoted to her and coaxed her to start performing again.

Is It Hot In Here brings immediate comparisons to Tina Turner but this mid paced R&B/rock is good enough in its own rite. Isolation (Someone To Hold) is R&B/soul and nothing out of the ordinary. Intuition is slow but it’s certainly no ballad. Her vocal is deliberately slurred at times and the subject matter is certainly a bit different. Backing vocals from Bekka Bramlett, who wrote the lyric, are a welcome inclusion. Still Amazed is a raunchy R&B and a Rolling Stones song if I’ve ever heard one. It was written by the same team that wrote Midnight Train for Buddy Guy, Jon Tiven and Roger Reale. Buddy Miller lends his not inconsiderable talents on vocal harmony and lead guitar. Since You Brought Your Sweet Love is a duet with Freddie Scott and the Tina Turner likeness re-surfaces. A Fool Can Always Break Your Heart is another Stones style R&B and probably the strongest performance here. With lyrics by Keith Reid, who produced some of the most recognisable words in popular music history – A Whiter Shade Of Pale, how could it fail?

You Do My Soul Good is slow and soulful. Guitarist Jon Tiven goes off on a riff but the song doesn’t really go anywhere and there’s not enough variety. How To Be Nice is mid-paced R&B, Who’s Takin’ Care Of Baby is sultry R&B and Time To Fly is a Bonnie Bramlett written grinding soul/R&B with attitude. It Is What It Is – how philosophical! Written by Jerry Ragavoy, this needs to be paid attention to. Need, a collaboration with legendary songsmith Don Covay, is classic soul and I love the feeling behind it – take it and shove it! She Stays On is a tale of domestic abuse and a slow soul/R&B that a number of artists have tried to record but Betty is the only one to have nailed it. She did not want any Gospel songs on the album but Tell It To The Preacherman, although it flirts with religion and you would think from the title that it would be overtly holy, is good old style R&B and one of the best on the album. A Bible And A Beer is very rousing. The Tina Turner comparisons will still be around but she is her own woman, as shown by the fact that she originally had reservations about recording the song as her mother is a preacher. The album is finishing strongly and Happiness Is Mine, co-written by Betty, continues with the more up-tempo beat to end with.

http://www.evidencemusic.com/

David Blue.

Danny Bryant’s Redeyeband – Black And White (Continental Blue Heaven).

Hertfordshire born Danny Bryant has been plying his trade with his Redeyeband for the last nine years and those have produced over two thousand performances. It is that hard toil that has now reaped deserved recognition for Danny and his band. His performing credits include playing alongside Jeff Beck, Joe Bonamassa, Greg Allman, Buddy Guy, Peter Green and Mick Taylor. Black And White is their sixth album and follows the massively popular Live album which has hit the I-Tunes Top 10 blues charts in six countries. 10 original tracks start with Tell Me, a grinding blues rock with searing guitar. It’s good to know that there are a number of top class young blues guitarists coming through and Bryant is in the forefront. Between The Lines is slower than the opener but still has that grinding blues feel. Love Remains is the ballad! There’s a bit of Axl Rose in his vibrato and the song is good enough as he follows the formula but the extended solo is the highlight.

Twenty One is a strolling, rocking blues with another scorching solo. Any Wonder is a power ballad and he is just getting better and better. Low Down Blues is an uncomplicated chugging blues and he continues to swap slow tracks with more up-tempo ones on Walk Away. This is acoustic led and very good despite its simplicity. I do like his guitar style and he is becoming more and more of a favourite. Old Blues Song has a bit of Joe Cocker in the vocal and it’s another slow one with yet another strong guitar solo. This type of blues power ballad could be called pastiche or passé nowadays but it still gets my vote. The penultimate track, Last Goodbye is a blues based 70s rocker and the closing title track, Black And White is a low key, acoustic finish – good song though.

Danny Bryant is one of the best guitar players that I have heard this year and that’s black and white.

http://www.redeyeband.co.uk/

David Blue.

Larry Miller – Outlaw Blues (Big Guitar Records).

Guildford’s finest, Larry Miller, releases his fifth album, 10 self-penned tracks of blues rock that opens with Shame On You. This is a rocking opener and gives an early indication of his no nonsense style. He comes out as the modern equivalent of a blues shouter and no mean guitar player either! Crank up the volume on this one. Writing’s On The Wall has a long lead in before the band, ex-Jethro Tull rhythm section Scott Hunter on drums & bassist Neil Sadler and Matt Empson on keyboards, join in and boogie it up. This is good, honest music and Miller’s guitar is in flames! Calling All The Angels is a blues ballad and as good as any I’ve heard and he shows that his playing can be delicate as well as full on. Rebekah is a storming boogie and Storm Comin’ is a Hoochie Coochie Man revamp. This has a classic style of blues playing and Miller snarls out the vocal. Professor Casanova is mid-paced and not really too much to get excited about although the guitar work is pointed and snappy. Only One Woman I Want is a solid boogie and Outlaw Blues does what it says on the tin with a Canned Heat beat. Blues Forever is completely slowed down and shows that he can be heartfelt too and his sympathetic playing finishes the overall feel. The closing track, Klondyke, is played solo on dobro and is such a powerful performance that you almost forget that you are listening to one guy. British blues rock is safe in the hands of Larry Miller.

http://www.larrymiller.co.uk/

David Blue.

P-A-U-L and The Harper Woods Heroes – Hangin’ On For Dear Life (EE Records).

P-A-U-L stands for Paul Andrew Ulysses Lamb and the Detroit born guitarist’s debut album has 10 original tracks of high quality blues rock. You Pulled The Trigger is a heavy opener and plods along in a 70s rock style. Platinum Blonde Jesus is much in the same vein with strong guitar work from Lamb. Kiss My Scars stays in the heavy area and confirms the bands status as no nonsense rockers. One Last Slow Dance is the obligatory slow one and Lamb’s voice sounds like he’s been chewing glass. It’s back to the mid-paced rock for Pretty Please. Monique is power all the way and Dead In El Paso is blues based and has a stop, start delivery that matches the best in the genre. Freedom Rider is more upbeat and a steady rocker, Serenity is funky and Hangin’ On For Dear Life is a muted blues. It’s just electric guitar and voice for the latter and is very soulful. The last 45 seconds or so has the full band but it makes it like two separate songs and I can’t understand its inclusion. A bit of a pointless ending to what is, overall, an excellent album.

http://www.p-a-u-lmusic.com/

David Blue

Dave Fields –Time’s A Wastin’ (Fields Music Inc).

Son of the noted composer Sammy ‘Forever’ Fields, Dave Fields has been around the New York music scene for some time. His father was prolific in the 1950s, writing Who Wears Short Shorts, amongst others. Fields junior has followed in his fathers footsteps and has written music for the 2004 Olympics, VH-1, The Today Show and NBC Sports. Time’s A Wastin’ is his second album and one full of originals. The opener, Let’s Get Shakin’ is a high tempo rock n roll/blues crossover with a flurry of notes that has already declared his credentials. Keep It Up is a down and dirty blues with prominent harp from Rob Paprozzi. You Don’t Know has a more sedate pace to it but this blues based rock has a scorching guitar solo. The upbeat blues of Don’t Look At Me That Way is standard stuff and Do Me Now has some rhymes that are a bit too much for me – definitely a filler.

Rabbi Blues is musically strong and has a first for me, a Hebrew chorus – Jews Blues! He is a highly proficient guitarist so all air guitarists should be at the ready. I expected high pace, ears bleeding rock on Frenzy but all I got was a mid-paced rocker. However, he does confirm his guitar excellence. DF’s Blues is a guitar instrumental. It’s a jazzy blues with an easy style as he floats between a shuffle and full on blues. I’ll Do You Right is a mid paced blues rock with a laconic solo and Do Do is introduced in a big band style. He brings in Paparozzi on the harp again for this and the song has it all. Just a bit more power in the vocal would have sealed it. Rockin’ At The Barbeque has a staccato guitar beat and tends towards rock n roll. However, it doesn’t live up to its potential despite some fretboard trickery. The Cure is the final track and is played on dobro. A solo blues with improved vocal power and extra emotion. Slide guitar is a welcome inclusion and Fields excels on all guitars.

Dave Fields is not wasting his time with this album.

http://www.davefields.com/
http://www.fieldsmusic.com/

David Blue.

John-Alex Mason –Town And Country (Naked Jaybird Music).

After spending his teenage years listening to blues records and being blown away by live performances by Johnny Winter and James Cotton, it is no surprise that John-Alex Mason took up blues guitar. However, it was after listening to The Complete Recording Of Robert Johnson that his particular love of solo country blues artists began. This is John-Alex Mason’s fifth full length recording but the first to reach my desk. He splits the album roughly in half with original songs and reworkings of classic and traditional tunes. Shake ‘Em On Down (OMB) has a voice that belies his youthful looks on the cover. Electric Delta blues and OMB stands for One Man Band – simple and powerful. Steel Pony Blues is also Delta style but acoustic this time. This is a modern response to Charley Patton’s Pony Blues and proves him to be the real deal. Bury My Boots has him playing acoustic slide and we could have a real rival for current guitar kings such as Joe Bonamassa. Terraplane Blues is a different take on the Robert Johnson classic. He has a clear vocal and this treatment is clinical & professional. The acoustic thread continues with Boll Weevil and this country slide blues is made to sound so easy by a master of his instrument. Chef Menteur is sedate but the feeling behind the song, a tribute to the people of New Orleans and how everyone was touched by what happened to the city, is well meant. Strange Things is played out on the dobro, as are a number of others, and is a bit more urban than its predecessors. Having said that, he is still firmly rooted in the Delta.

Milk Cow Blues is another famous song, well played. He manages to inject some much welcomed emotion into this vocal. There’s a return to electric guitar for Locomotive and I’ve worked out the code on the back of the sleeve. The titles with pale print are electric and those in black are acoustic or, if you like, Town & Country. This is vibrant and he lets it rip on the vocal. What Are You Hungry For? is another pumping tune with drums complimenting perfectly. The drums pound out a heartbeat for Rabbit Song, a pared down electric offering with emotive vocals. Jitterbug Swing has Southern influences throughout and there is a telling introduction of bass about half way through. This is a good arrangement of a traditional song. The Skip James classic Cypress Grove is slow and thought provoking. Mason will be a star of the blues if he continues in this form. There are no big solos, just top class picking and slide. You can’t play an Elmore James song at anything less than 100% and Shake Your Money Maker is no exception. This has been covered by many but I can’t remember any better than Mason’s version. It’s just guitar and drums and is the shortest track on offer but it will get you going. He closes with an acoustic version of the opening track, Shake ‘Em On Down. John-Alex Mason will hold your attention by himself very easily. This is real music for real music lovers.

http://www.johnalexmason.com/
http://www.nakedjaybirdmusic.com/

David Blue.

Joe Bonamassa @ The Arches, Glasgow 28th February 2008.

Guitar wizard Joe Bonamassa rolled into Glasgow and filled The Arches with a wall of sound that not many will ever equal. He said that his love affair with the city started two years ago at The Renfrew Ferry. I was one of the 125 fortunate souls to see him that night and I’m not surprised that this time around it was an 800 sell out. He has improved his rapport with the crowd although they could have been a little more respectful during some of the quieter periods when Joe pleaded with them for silence. His guitar prowess has also improved and I am convinced that he has now reached the higher echelon of players. The highlight of the night was the title track from his current album, Sloe Gin although Don’t Burn Down That Bridge and Another Kind Of Love rubber stamped the feeling that we were in the presence of something special. Throw in a version of ZZ Top’s Just Got Paid and you can imagine the night we had.

http://www.jbonamassa.com/

David Blue.

Velvetone – Yip Yip (Crosscut Records).

Hailing from Bremen, Germany Velvetone is a band that could easily have come out of the heyday of American rock n roll. The band has added new drummer, Stefan Ulrich since their last album and he has helped maintain their vitality.

11 of the 14 tracks are self-written and the opener, Desperate Heart, has a full sound and they still have Tammo Luers’ killer guitar tone – a very 1960s theme. The Kooler still has those vintage sounds and signature vibes. Lil’ Bad Thing is a cranked up rockabilly in The Stray Cats style and Mighty Hand is a mid-paced rocker with Johnny Cash attitude. Smuggle has a very clean sound, very much down to the production of Velvetone and The Zumo Kings. This R&B also has the 60’s very much stamped all over it. It’s back to rockabilly for Buddy Killen’s It Ain’t Right and their energy levels reach new peaks with this.

Jack Clement’s Guess Things Happen That Way is played in a slow country style and Limbo Moon continues the slow pace, this one being a grinder. However, it’s not too long before they are back at what they are best at and the rockabilly of Paycheck is one of the albums highlights. Seven is straight out of a 60s Western soundtrack with updated Hank Marvin guitar sounds and Ray DeVaryo’s velvet voice. There are more 60s rock n roll sounds on Hot Rod Killer and Hurt Me No More is a sturdy rocker. Sandford Clark’s Go On Home is a slow country/rock n roll crossover and the eponymous closing track is a reverb festival. Yip Yip, shake your hip – a frenetic and fantastic way to finish a more than able follow up to 2004’s Switchback Ride.

http://www.crosscut.de/
http://www.velvetone.de/

David Blue.

Blind Boys Of Alabama – Down In New Orleans (Proper Records).

Four time Grammy Award winners The Blind Boys Of Alabama have recorded in New Orleans for the first time in their history, which stretches back almost 70 years. They fitted in so well with the New Orleans way of things that you won’t notice. Supporting them in their stint in the Big Easy were stellar figures such as Allen Toussaint and the trio that made up their backing band, pianist David Torkanowsky, bassist Roland Guerin and Shannon Powell on drums. Free At Last is Gospel with a smokey lead vocal over the funky groove. Make A Better World has good horns throughout this Gospel inflected Soul/R&B. This was written by Earl King, one of New Orleans’ favourite sons and it is surprising that it is the horns and the laid back sax in particular, that are to the forefront rather than the guitar which King was so famous for. Mahalia Jackson’s How I Got Over is slow and soulful with a strong lead vocal. The harmonies are as you would expect, oh yes! You Got To Move is an uptempo version of the well known song. Across The Bridge has a New Orleans feel to it and You Better Mind is Gospel shouting par excellence.

Down By The Riverside is the classic song and they give it their own inimitable twist. It’s only piano and voice for If I Could Help Somebody but this Mahalia Jackson song is one of the most powerful tracks on offer. Uncloudy Day has the aid of The Preservation Hall Jazz Band and smacks of New Orleans. A Prayer is soulful and I’ve Got A Home is Gospel with a sound beat. The gravely vocal sets the whole thing off. They close with I’ll Fly Away on which a military snare leads into New Orleans jazz.

They have been about in various guises for nearly 70 years – that says it all.

http://www.proper-records.co.uk/

David Blue.

Crosby Loggins And The Light – We All Go Home (Provogue).

Eldest son of Grammy winning legend Kenny Loggins, Crosby Loggins and his band The Light release their debut album on Provogue Records. When your father’s house guests include Jackson Browne, Graham Nash and Michael McDonald then there is bound to be a little magic that rubs off on you. Crosby has captured some of that magic during co-production with Jesse Siebenburg, a multi-instrumentalist with his own famous father, Supertramp drummer, Bob Siebenberg. Good Enough showcases a whispery voice fronting melodic acoustic rock. Always Catching Up, written with his sister Bella, is very familiar sounding, sometimes the sign of a good song, and the inclusion of Paul Cartwright’s fiddle and Siebenberg on pedal steel gives a modern country feel. Rocks Into Sand is a country crossover and confirms his status as being very different to Provogue’s other artists. There’s a jazzy fiddle intro to Man In The Middle. This is very sophisticated and finally gives us a guitar break. Military drums from Jared Pope herald March On, America, political soft rock and very mechanical with a wicked electric violin solo from Paul Cartwright.

Written by Siebenberg, Here She Comes is a pleasant nu-country ballad that may remind you of Marshall Crenshaw and Wanna Be You is a very slick funky and soulful offering with vocals akin to those of Savage Garden. Radio Song is modern country and Angel Of Mercy is an impassioned country ballad that is surprisingly good for one from this genre. Loggins certainly has the type of voice for this. Couldn’t Save Me is another from the higher echelons of the genre but it doesn’t carry enough of an edge for me. The title track is one of the better songs on the album and this sultry, piano-led contribution builds up well and shows that he can construct a song brilliantly. It’s even more impressive when you find out that he wrote it when he was 18. Same Old Song (La La La) is old style folk/country much akin to James Taylor. He throws in a Celtic influence with the fiddle but the whole effect is spoiled by the inclusion of the La La La excerpt. Apart from this, it is a top song.

As I’ve already said, Crosby Loggins is very different to the rest of Provogue’s roster. Then again, variety is the spice of life.

http://www.crosbyloggins.com/
http://www.provoguerecords.com/

David Blue.

IAMX – The Alternative (No Carbon Records).

IAMX is the solo project of Sneaker Pimps front man Chris Corner and The Alternative is his second album. President highlights his excellent voice immediately. This is a big production song and could quite easily be from a stage musical. The eponymous title track is top class electronic pop that deserves chart success for him. Nightlife is darker and has a pounding bass line and that extra little bit of class. Lulled By Numbers shows how expressive a singer he can be and when backed by such evocative music it makes a winning combination – electronica of the highest class. His future may lie in musicals as I have stated above but that future may also lie in films if Songs Of Imaginary Beings is anything to go by. This is breathtaking and deserves to be heard by a wider audience. There is some interesting imagery used on The Negative Sex and he finally rocks it up when he reaches the chorus. Bring Me Back A Dog is all about wanting to be a dog in the next life – each to his own, I suppose. Anyway, the song is stuttering and magnificent! S.H.E. has a soaring vocal and the best you can do is think about him as a thinking man’s Mika. Spit It Out has a throbbing rhythm and the voice of an angel (fallen perhaps) which makes it an epic standout. His expressive skills shine out again on After Every Party I Die and his soaring vocal returns to pierce your soul on the epic This Will Make You Love Again. He finishes with a string version of Spit It Out. It is such an evocative piece of music that transfers so well onto strings and it shouldn’t really be too much of a surprise.

Given the right exposure IAMX might well be the big thing of 2008.

http://www.iamx.co.uk/
http://www.61seconds.de/

David Blue.

Napoleon IIIrd – In Debt To (Brainlove Records).

Leeds based Napoleon IIIrd opens with the experimental Introduction To A before leaping into This Is My Call To Arms with its soaring chorus. I detect Julian Cope influences here but then again, I may be completely looking in the wrong direction. Defibrillator has him in the stance of a modern day Paul Weller – that’s how good he can be. However, he can be totally off the wall too as The Conformist Takes It All proves. This is strange stuff with too many things going on at the same time. Beck and Divine Comedy fans will love Guys In Bands and there’s a bit of The Clangers at the end for all the youngsters! Anti-Patria is more conformist and, as a result, is one of the best songs on the album. Hit Schmooze For Me will work its way into your brain and you will be whistling it by the end. Everyone with associate themselves to the line ‘This is not my life, it’s just my day job’. Introduction To B is another experimental instrumental and completely unnecessary. Kate’s Song is acoustic, sparse and almost childlike and What We Have Here Is Ending is almost prophetic as this electronica offering is repetitive almost to the point of undervaluing the song. The Casual Terrorist Vs The International Board Of Wishing is an interesting title and enables him to continue evading a pigeonhole. The only comparison is one of very 80s electro-pop. My Superiority Complex has a Laurie Anderson (O Superman) beginning and some mockney vocals. He ends with One Song Before Bed To Three Four and he rocks things up a bit and goes all grungy.

An album that you will never be able to second guess and that is a talent in itself.

http://www.blogger.com/www.brainloverecords.com
www.myspace.com/boney3

David Blue.

Inward Eye – Shame (Columbia).

Big things are expected of this Winnipeg trio and on this form I believe that success will come sooner rather than later. It sounds a bit like School’s Out in the lead up to the chorus but it has a catch of its own that places it firmly in the centre of classic and punk rock. The lead singer, Dave, has a breathless vocal delivery that may well become the bands signature.

www.myspace.com/inwardeye

David Blue.

The Ghost Frequency – Never Before Have I Seen A Man Alive That Looks So Exactly Like A Skeleton (City Rockers).

And the award for this year’s longest title goes to…. This must be one of the wordiest titles ever but The Ghost Frequency’s energetic punk approach will soon have you forgetting their verbosity. On the evidence of this, there are no reasons as to why they can’t scale the metal/indie charts. The single is backed with another concise title – We Built These Walls And Watched You Howl As You Knocked Them Down. This is more hardcore than the main track and best left until they have secured their fan base.

www.myspace.com/theghostfrequency

David Blue

Simon Mayor Quintet – Mandolinquents (Acoustics Records).

This is the original line-up of the band that now call themselves The Mandolinquents and this is a re-release of their debut album from 1997. The album shows the prodigious talents that The Mandolinquents have and what they have built on over the last 10 years or so. I cannot fault the playing on Dvorak’s Slavonic Dance No 8; they are maestros of their instruments. Tchaikovsky’s Dance Of The Sugar Plum Fairy loses a bit of its impact perhaps but the dexterity on Eine Kleine Nachtmusik is amazing. It is worth noting that some of the band were wondering what to wear when performing the former – look out for concerts in your area! Plum Blossoms In The Snow is a traditional tune given the Mandolinquents treatment and more than meets the mark with Mayor on mandolin and Gerald Garcia on classical guitar. Mayor and friends play all kinds of music and Beat Out That Rhythm On A Drum from Carmen Jones is a venture into opera. Hilary James’ voice is not all that exceptional on this but we should not be too surprised as we are not talking about an operatic performance. However, the music is as infectious as the original. Down By The Sally Gardens is a traditional Irish folk tune. Played on guitar and mandola, it also has good harmony and the melody suits James’ voice far better. The addition of Chris Leslie on violin lends an air of authenticity.

Amongst this selection of classical and traditional tunes it is heartening to hear an original and Boston Ballyhoo is that original. Although short, it does allow Mayor, Richard Collins and Hilary James to display the full range of their talents. They jazz up the Irving Berlin oldie, Cheek To Cheek, although it does come out a bit Home Counties. There are flurries and runs aplenty on Russian Rag – good fun. It’s back to the classical mode for Ravel’s peaceful Pavane Pour Une Infante Defunte. This, I feel, is a wrong choice as it doesn’t really transfer over to mandolin very well. They raid the Irving Berlin archives again for The Piccolino. The playing is still superb but I don’t really know what to make of this – I’m confused! The traditional American folk song He’s Gone Away resumes normal transmission and Apanhei Te is a tune played at breakneck speed. Written by Ernesto Nazareth, the King of Choro, which is a Brazilian street music, the speed is produced by the Cavaquinho, a type of small guitar that is designed to play at a rate of knots. This allows it to be transferred to mandolins very easily. They close with A Nightingale Sang In Berkeley Square, a well known song that Simon Mayor plays solo on the mandola and treats it in a sympathetic manner.

http://www.acousticsrecords.co.uk/

David Blue.

Deering & Down – Break This Record (Diamond D Records).

This is Deering & Down’s third album and having based themselves in Tennessee since 2004, it has a flavour of that states most famous town, Memphis. They have amassed themselves a formidable band whose members include Rick Steff on keyboards (ex- Cat Power, George Thorogood, Gin Blossoms) and drummer Kurt Ruleman (ex-San The Sham). I was certainly taken aback by Canadian vocalist Lahna Deering’ squeaky tones on the opening track, Finally Found The One. It turns gritty rather than squeaky the further into the song we go. It has a rag tag homemade sound and doesn’t really reach its initial promise. Whatcha’ Thinkin’ Of has a certain punk feel to it. Her voice is better suited here but it does get a bit of getting used to. There’s a better base to this. Can’t Wait is mid paced rock and Richard Of Los Angeles is a rock ballad with the obligatory big chorus. Unfortunately, the stadium rock guitar solo from Rev Neil Down doesn’t quite work.

Sad Love is slow and plodding and Wonder Who’s Callin’ doesn’t offer anything too exciting either. Velvet On Stone is a slow country ballad and the singer has a Dolly Parton tone to her voce but don’t be fooled by the childlike quality, there is a lot of power in there. Sugar is a sleazy, grungy blues that works well and Cow Cow Girl is a fractured alt.country that is one of the best songs on the album. Deering turns in a Stevie Nicks style vocal on Oh So Good before giving us another slow song in the form of Abbey. Perhaps they have recorded too many slower songs for this album than is absolutely necessary. There is nothing wrong with this one but it is just not exceptional. Bessie’s Big Way is the closing track and this is unashamed country although I originally thought that it was going to be about Bessie Smith. It’s a guitar instrumental with enough small (deliberate) errors to give it that homemade feel.

This may be a slow burner and there are certainly enough plus marks to give hope for the future.

http://www.deeringanddown.com/

David Blue.

Kat Flint – Go Faster Stripes (Idioglossia Records).

I’ve just come across this single and although it was released a few weeks ago I feel it necessary to draw it to your attention. Scottish songstress Kat Flint has released Go Faster Stripes, a tale of life from the heart from her forthcoming album, Dirty Birds. It is an uncomplicated story of things that can, and do, go wrong and has a homemade feel. It is backed with Joseph, a look at the Nativity from Mary’s perspective that highlights Flint’s way of looking at life. The gentle acoustic sounds allow you to take in the meaning of the song. Consider my appetite whetted for the album.

www.myspace.com/katflint

David Blue.